Rise Like A Phoenix From Ashes
by Stahl
Summary: A salvage captain, her crew and her ship must rise against the Cylons after they launch a devastating surprise offensive against their home colonies. Along the way she must deal with Colonial Fleet refugees, uncooperative civilians and a rowdy group of dangerous pirates. Reviews much appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Rise Like A Phoenix From The Ashes  
**

**2 Days before the Cylon attack, in orbit of an Aerilon boneyard**

Hulks of once powerful warships drifted aimlessly through the boneyard, many of them ancient, nearly all useless. Several civilian and auxiliary ships could be sighted with the bunch, but antique, antiquated military craft were the brunt of the lifeless ship. The hulls of ships battered into each other constantly. Some of them, disposed of illegally and improperly, still held within their reserve tanks the volatile Tylium fuel that would occasionally ignite upon impact of hulls.

A large ship with three large stripes of red painted on her hull wandered as aimlessly through the yard as the derelict ships, ignoring multiple collisions with debris. Thanks to the ship's size and thick armored plating, the collisions she had were of no concern. She was a one-of-a-kind civilian carrier from before even the first Cylon War, a relic of past colonial travel. Her engines were antiquated, her jump drive could barely be called operable, but her size was unique and gave her a certain advantage. Nearly the size of a battlestar, she could easily carry two full sized passenger liners.

The carrier, once used as a mobile headquarters for a small freight company that operated out of Aerilon, was donated by the CEO of the company in the first year of the Cylon War to the colonial forces. The Colonial Fleet quickly installed armor plating, mounted a large number of weaponry onto the hull, gave her vipers and renamed her. She was the only ship of her kind and came to be known as the _Phoenix_. The Colonial Fleet intended for_ Gryphon _to hold the Cylons at bay long enough for the first of the battlestars to roll off the assembly lines, so to speak.

And she did exactly that. _Phoenix _participated in multiple large scale battles and smaller skirmishes with the Cylons, racking up an impressive kill-count. In her single year of front line fighting with the fleet, her and her escorts amounted nearly thirteen destroyed basestar. Once the tougher-than-nails battlestars came to be, _The Gryphon_ was apart of the defense force over Picon for the rest of the war. It was there that she took several nukes to her hull. She would have been boarded and destroyed if not for her valiant viper pilots, many of which sacrificed their lives to protect her as she limped away from the battle.

After the war she was put into drydock, repaired, unarmed and auctioned off to help pay for repairs for of the colonies. The name of the ship stayed with her through many captains, however.

Eventually it fell into the hands of one Saraphina Nereus, who operated a small group of completely legitimate salvagers with the ship. At least that's what the captain had the government believing. In reality, the carrier operated at a less-than-legal standard. Nereus's view was that if it wasn't being used, than she could certainly take it and supply it to someone who would use it, for a small price of course. She didn't much care where it came from or who it went to.

Which made her and _Phoenix_ a favorite among many shady organizations. As long as Nervous and her crew got paid it didn't much matter. At least that's how she saw it. Even with all that said and done, Nereus ran a tight shift. Her weathered ship operated with an efficient, if not rowdy crew.

The bridge of the carrier was in an odd location not typically used as so. The bridge was atop of the ship, nearer to the aft section of the carrier rather than the bow. It stuck up twenty meters, lengthening the height of the ship from one hundred and ninety three meters to two hundred and thirteen meters at its highest point. That meant the bridge was rather vulnerable.

Not that Nereus cared. When it came right down to it, the carrier lacked an antiship cannons and was operated by a civilian crew of only two hundred and twenty seven men and women in the first place. Four hundred less than the recommended minimum number of crew. If they were attacked by anyone they didn't stand much chance anyway.

Captain Nereus knew this and accepted the fact. She preferred diplomacy over warfare anyway. The female captain of the large vessel rolled out of her bed, her feet hitting the chilly metal floor. Nereus shivered and jogged over towards her closet. She grabbed a pair of socks, pulling them onto her feet with a sigh of content. Nereus then pulled out a white muscle shirt and a pair of brown fatigues. She threw those on over her underdress and grabbed her boots.

Those were one of her few luxuries. Her boots were made of the finest leather Caprica had to offer. They were a pair of glossy black, pointy-toed cowboy boots. The finest shoes she had ever owned. Nereus smiled as she stuffed her brown fatigues into her boots, ready to tackle her day. Since it was a Tuesday morning that meant her second-in-command Jeremiah West had the bridge.

She walked into the captain quarter's bathroom and fixed her short and shaggy jet black hair. Nereus grabbed her red checkered bandanna from where it sat on a shelf over the sink and wrapped it around her head. With a nod of approval, she made her way out of her quarters and turned left, heading towards the elevator to the bridge.

The captain reached the elevator door, called it to the deck she was on and tapped her foot patiently. It was rare on a ship of this size with such a small number of crew to just see someone wandering through the corridors. The elevator reached her deck and the doors slid open, revealing two other crewmen heading up to the bridge. Nereus stepped on, taking a spot in-between the two male crewmen who seemed to stand up straighter in her presence. For a woman who only stood at 5'7 and a hundred and twenty pounds she was somewhat intimidating to others.

Not that she minded much. The elevator ride was short as the bridge was only four decks up from where the captain quarter's was. The doors slid open and the two crewmen yielded the right-of-way to the captain, who quickly stepped off the lift. The bridge was an octagon of stations, only a handful of them actually had crew in front of them.

It was flat, unlike the bridges of many battlestars. In the middle sat a small civilian DRADIS console. _Phoenix _had been sold but not before the fleet gutted her to hell and back. The Gods only knew how the first owner had gotten her operational again but he had.

Standing in front of DRADIS stood the over six feet tall Jeremiah West who was currently coordinating a docking operation with a small freighter. He looked over his shoulder and saw Nereus stepping towards where he was. "Captain on deck." He reported lazily. A few crewmembers looked up from their stations but for the most part they ignored the statement, tiredly carrying on with their duties. "Captain, we've got a freighter dockin' in our hangar. It's our six month replenishment." Jeremiah reported.

"Frak me that was today?" Nereus questioned rhetorically.

"No thanks, captain, I'm good and yeah it was." Jeremiah joked and reported, gaining a small chuckle from the captain.

Nereus shrugged her arms in uncaring. "As long as we get our food and water I don't frakkin' care." She paused and glanced over at the Colonial Fleet veteran who was staring back. "Fine. I'll go down and say hi. Is it Jim again?" She questioned.

Jeremiah nodded. "Yeah it's Halfway Jim. Don't let him run the price up again. Can't frakkin' afford it." He stated simply, crossing his arms as he watched the ship merge with their own on DRADIS.

"Do I look like some frakwit? I know better than to let some guy named Halfway Jim get the better of me." Nereus explained with a smirk as she walked back towards the lift. Sometimes she hated her job, having to deal with idiots. What kept her apart of the life was the fact that she had her own ship and crew. She minus well have been a God. A klaxon wailed away throughout the ship just as the lift started going down towards the lower level decks where one could access the hangar. That was another bad part of her job. She reached over to the corded phone mounted on the elevator wall and picked it up, dialing for the bridge. "What the hell happened?" Nereus questioned.

_"An unused compartment just got spaced, captain."_ Jeremiah reported simply._ "Looks like the hull just gave way. It's sealed off anyway but just in case I'm sending a team to patch it."_ The second-in-command reported, alleviating the captain's anxiety.

"Alright. Make sure those dumb fraks actually weld it onto the hull, unlike last time. Patches are expensive and Godsdammit if I'm going to let something that expensive just float off into space." She stated before slamming the phone back into its place. "Now my frakkin' ship's falling apart." She muttered. The day was already going just peachy. And it had barely started.

**Hangar Deck**

"Welcome aboard the_ Phoenix_ Jim." Nereus greeted simply as she walked towards where the freight captain stood, two armed guards flanking him. "Extra security?" She questioned suspiciously nodding towards the two large men with pistols on their hips.

The man nodded. "I've got some precious cargo. Needed a few brutes. Not that it concerns our business. Our business is simple. Everything has already been prepaid, as can be expected from the notorious Captain Nereus. All I needed was someone to take it off my hands. I'm assuming you'd like to check the goods?" Jim questioned her.

Nereus smiled. "Of course I do." She stated simply.

He nodded and whistled loudly at a group of crew who were off standing to the side. Jim pointed towards his ship and the crewmen skittered off to unload the cargo. He then pulled out a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it over to Nereus who promptly took it and looked over the listed inventory.

On it was six months worth of essential food items, e.g. flour, water, dried meats, fruits, vegetables and so on. Nereus nodded as she went over the list. "Everything appears to be in, uh, relative order. Disappointed by the lack of coffee grinds but instant will definitely do." She stated as the cargo bay of the freighter captain's ship opened. The crew began pushing trolleys of boxes filled to the brim with food out of the ship and onto the hangar deck before returning to the ship to bring out the rest. Nereus held up one finger towards Halfway Jim and walked over to the closest phone. She picked it up and dialed for the bridge. "Hey, get me some guys down here to start storing away this frakkin' stuff." Nereus ordered before hanging up, not bothering to wait for the reply.

She then walked back to where Jim stood. "Good dealing with you but I've got some work to do on the bridge." She lied through her teeth like any good salvager would. "If you'll excuse me." The Picon born captain nodded politely.

Jim bowed simply. "Always a pleasure, Captain Nereus. Do keep in touch." He stated while the captain turned around to walk away. Her business was done for the day as far as she knew. Just her sitting on the bridge waiting for whoever was next on watch to come by. Boring as ever.

**1 Day before the Cylon attack**

Jeremiah West looked on quietly as the _Phoenix_ floated into close proximity of the colony of Aerilon. It was the food basket of the colonies and the boneyard for the Colonial Fleet. Which made it a prime investment for salvagers such as them. Even with their licenses fully filled out and legal, there were some things that the fleet had rather them not tear off of old warships. Weapon mounts and launch tubes for one. They were very popular on the black market, especially with resistance groups and pirates.

West didn't mind dealing with scum, it was just getting on the fleet's bad side that worried him. He didn't have much say it anyways. Nereus ran the ship her way and he respected that for a reason. "Speaking of the devil." He muttered aloud to himself as the young captain walked onto the bridge. She wore a plain red button up shirt along with a black undershirt. She had a pair of her fatigues of course. And of course her trademark boots.

She smiled towards West as she walked towards the DRADIS console. Nereus punched him on the shoulder teasingly. "Hey frakwit, wanna drive the ship or stare at me?" The captain joked, giggling at her own joke. She had had a drink or two before coming up. Her cheeks were rosy, a sign for her that indicated she had been drinking. That didn't make her incompetent or anything within that pyramid court. In fact, she was usually more of a serious drunk.

Jeremiah smiled back at her and looked back up at DRADIS. There were a large amount of ships on the screen, all of them colonial, flying to and from the farming colony. He hated his backwater home world, so much so that he denounced the fact he was from there at age thirteen. The whole damn planet was a melting pot of idiots. In fact him and a friend of his had agreed way-back-when to leave together and start a new life on Caprica.

One of them had succeeded. Doctor Gauis Baltar. What did Jeremiah West do? Learned to fly vipers and mustered out the minute he got the opportunity. Then, he joined a fiery Picon captain and her ragtag group of salvagers in some small shuttle. Five years ago. Today, they operated one of the largest ships in the salvage business with one of the smallest crews. An improvement but not by much. It paid his dues nonetheless. "Alright, bring us into port. We've got a lot of fraking stuff to do with no time to do it." West ordered the helm who nodded in response.

Nereus smiled and leaned against him. "What all do we have to do, Jer?" She asked, as friendly and casual as ever.

He shrugged simply. "I guess we'll give the crew some R&R on the station. Give them a night or two of relaxation. Me? I'm going to be arranging some business with a few contacts. We've still got some launch tubes stowed away in the usual hideaway from that battlestar we worked on two weeks back." West explained to her.

She nodded, smile never leaving her face. "That's good, Jer. I think I'm gonna talk to Weasel about getting stronger torpedoes. We got four launchers but all they do is launch the civilian grade shit. They wouldn't make a dent in any ship worth her marbles. I want ship killers. Something with a kick." Nereus stated, a trace of menace in her tone.

West thought that odd considering how she preferred diplomacy over fighting. Not that they hadn't seen fighting in their short time as salvagers. Pirates, freedom fighters, idiots, all of them had tried firing their adequate weapons at _Phoenix._ Nereus simply ordered for them to jump away. When they couldn't do that, Nereus turned to her gunships. She had two mark I raptors sitting on the hangar deck, armed to the teeth with jury-rigged weaponry. Chainguns and missiles consisted of their payload. She personally piloted one of them alongside another member of her crew, a once-upon-a-time viper pilot named Kevin Shawcross.

They'd easily destroy most ships that bothered messing with them. When it didn't, they simply jumped away. Easy as that. West realized he didn't much care as to why Nereus wanted higher grade torpedo's. Didn't really matter to him.

_Phoenix_ flew through space towards the spaceport that orbited Aerilon. For a larger ship such as their own, they were unable to dock on the planet itself. The ship was nearly the size of a battlestar in the first place and helluva lot harder to fly.

_"Unknown ship, please identify."_ A voice ordered over the ship's squawk box.

Nereus was the one to reach down for the corded phone. "Docking station, this is the Salvage Vessel Phoenix, codes LL-321 requesting permission for a docking bridge for twenty four hours." She responded nonchalantly to the order.

_"Authenticating."_ There was a slight pause._ "Copy that, Gryphon. Proceed with caution to bridge twenty three, I repeat lane two three. Your ship will be held until payment for docking. Follow the two raptors to your parking spot. Lowest possible drift speed. It's a crowded day. Try not to cause an accident on my watch. Over."_ The civilian LSO ordered.

Nereus chuckled. "Copy that, station. We'll try not to break any of your fine China. _Phoenix_ out." She stated, placing the phone down in its spot on the main console. She then turned to West. "Go arrange some business. I'm gonna call up Weasel." The captain stated, turning around to leave the bridge.

West nodded and activated the shipwide squawk box. "All crew, all crew. We're docking with the station over Aerilon. You are free to come and go as you please for the next twenty four hours. Anybody not back here by three in the afternoon is getting left behind, jobless. That's all, frakwits." He chuckled as he ended the announcement. He loved his job.

**Zero-Day Aerilon docking station**

"Weasel!" Nereus explained wholeheartedly through the phone. "Good to talk to you again." She stated.

The dark humored, narcissistic smuggler sneered. _"Captain Nereus of the Phoenix. What the hell can I do for you, you crazy bitch?"_ The man known simply as Weasel throughout the shadier community asked.

Nereus chuckled. "You flatter me. To be serious though, I'm on the station above Aerilon. I need something." She explained as vaguely as possible.

The captain could hear a groan from a squeaky desk chair through the phone. _"What sort of something, my dearest Saraphina? Would this be a personal item or something more along the lines of business?"_ He questioned, interested.

"Something for my ship."

Another groan from the desk chair. _"I see. I have a contact on the station. A broker, so to speak. I'll give him a ring and tell him I owe you a favor. You'll get what you need, free of charge, for what you did to me. I cannot guarantee my contact has what you need in stock but I'll make sure he knows that it is a priority. I know it's a life debt but this is a one time offer. I owe you a lot but I cannot sacrifice my business. The broker will be in the lounge. Goes by the name Rex. He'll know who you are."_ Weasel explained to her.

The favor he was speaking of came from way-back-when, before Nereus had the Phoenix. She was operating a mining ship turned salvage vessel throughout the colonies. She sold her salvage to Weasel, which sometimes was illegal. Once, when they were meeting, their deal was broken up by the authorities. Nereus and Jeremiah got Weasel out alive when they easily could have left him at the hands of the cops. "No probs, Weasel. I was in your shoes, I'd have done the same exact thing. Good talking to ya'." She stated with a smile.

_"Yeah, you too, Nereus. Stay safe, bitch."_ Weasel said before hanging up, ending the communication.

Nereus smirked and hung up the phone, about facing to leave the area she was in. From what she knew of the station, the lounge was two floors up from where she was. She lazily strolled towards the nearest lift entrance and called it to her floor. Nereus tapped her foot patiently as she watched a digital ad display flash away on the wall. It was for Caprican Ambrosia. Too expensive for her tastes. She preferred stuff that got her trashed, not the fancy stuff.

The lift arrived and the doors slid open, revealing a full elevator. It was stuffed to full capacity with other crewmen of different ships. Nereus sighed and waved her hand, motioning for them to go. The lift's doors closed again, leaving Nereus to wait for the next one. Not that she minded. She had all the time in the world as far as she was concerned.

Almost as if on cue... the Cylons launched their attack. The station began to shake, bright lights from explosions could be seen from outside the windows, ships broke apart into debris. An entire wing of the space station broke free from its bonds. Nereus eyes went wide as she watched all of this happening. It was then that the brief pause from everyone turned into panicking. Everyone began scattering in different directions, desperate to get off the station. Nereus saw three Cylon raiders fly by the observation windows, firing a barrage of missiles at a civilian freighter that attempted to leave the battle.

Three baseships drifted towards the space station while the Aerilon defense fleet, which consisted of two battlestars and a number of escorts, charged straight for them. Just as they got within weapons range, all of the ships, even the fighters, went offline and began drifting aimlessly. Several ships collided with each other and were destroyed in a fiery explosion.

Nereus herself was panicking but like hell if she was going to let herself die. She turned and sprinted down the corridor, heading towards the docking bridge where her ship was docked. Several others, some of her crew, some simply not wanting to die, followed hot on her heels. Nereus turned left, pushed her way past a group of civilians trying to get onto their ships and continued sprinting all the way to the end of the docking corridor. The captain made a right, charged into the airlock and opened the door.

She stood by, motioning for as many people to get onto her ship as she could. Nereus grabbed one of her crewmen, the pilot Kevin Shawcross, and pulled him aside. "Get a crew to the bridge. I don't care how many. We need a blind jump now!" She ordered frantically. Shawcross nodded and, without hesitation, grabbed two other crewmen. The three sprinted towards the bridge elevator while Nereus remained, boarding as many people as she could. "Let's go! Move, move, move!" The salvage captain shouted just as a group of marines, probably part of the garrison at the station, boarded. She didn't care who got on.

Hell, the president of the colonies could've stepped on for all she cared. Nereus was set on getting out of this situation as soon as possible but in the meantime she'd help get as many others out of the situation as she could manage.

_"Captain."_ Shawcross's voice came over the ship's squawk box._ "FTL's are spooling. We'll need five minutes!"_ He exclaimed just as a barrage of missiles hit the outer hull and shook the large carrier.

She ran over to the nearest communication console. "Alright! We've got just about as many people out as we can! Pull us away from the station! Move us towards those derelict Colonial ships! See if we can pick up a couple of them. They're disabled." Nereus explained quickly.

_"Copy that. Seal the airlock and I'll disconnect the bridge."_ Shawcross stated.

Nereus pushed several people, civilians and military alike, aside as she made her way to the airlock. Three more civilians, escorted by a single marine armed with a pistol and dressed in fatigues, charged into the ship. She then slammed the large red button and the red lights situated around the door began flashing, indicating that the blast doors were closing.

Right after the captain had pressed the button, more civilians charged to the airlock, clawing at the door. Nereus stepped back, appalled at the sight. A Cylon centurion was following the group. Her knees went weak as the Cylon rounded the corned and aimed its weapons at the civilians. The blast doors closed before Nereus saw anything happen but she knew what had happened. She felt a single tear slip from her eye and slide down her cheek. The captain wiped her eyes quickly and hunkered down for what she had to do.

"Everyone who is not a crewmember of this ship! Please! Stay here for your safety! We will be jumping soon!" Nereus was surprised at the fact that she was not the one to yell that. Instead, it was the marine in fatigues who was quelling the civilians. "Captain!" He shouted over the crowd to Nereus. "Get to the bridge! Me and my men will try and keep things calm down here!" He explained.

Nereus nodded and sprinted towards the elevator, almost tripping over twice. She activated the lift and paced back and forth, adrenaline rushing through her veins. The captain needed to act, and quick. Another strafing run from the Cylon raiders had the civilian carrier shake again. There was no time that she had appreciated those armor plates more than now. The lift arrived and opened, showing a wide-eyed Jeremiah West and several others of the bridge crew. She stepped on and joined them on the ride to the bridge.

"What the frak is happening, captain?" West questioned frantically.

Nereus shook her head. "It's impossible to believe so just trust me when I say we need to get out of here." She muttered under her breath. The rest of the ride was silent. The lift arrived and everyone scrambled off, taking their stations. "Alright!" Nereus shouted. "Helm, put us in a full spin. Don't let them target just a part of our armor. West, start diverting damage control guys. Get any fires out right frakkin' now. Comms, try and get me a connection to those colonials." She ordered, both efficient and calm. "Someone fire our frakkin' torpedoes!" Nereus shouted as another barrage of missiles hit the _Phoenix's_ outer hull.

"Multiple decompressions reported throughout frame eleven! Diverting DC teams!" West reported, letting his military instincts take over.

"All torpedoes away! Launchers are down for reloading." The crewmen manning the weapons station stated, the nervousness practically overflowing in his voice.

Nereus couldn't blame him. "Full ahead to those ships!" She ordered as DRADIS continued to beep away, new contacts showing up left and right. Entire ships were replaced by a field of debris. All that remained was a handful of freighters, some raptors, a police frigate, the _Phoenix_ and of course the Cylons. A klaxon began wailing, indicating that a nuke was inbound.

"Radilogical alarm! Two heading straight for us! Thirty seconds to impact!" West shouted, taking over at multiple stations. Nereus watched DRADIS nervously, teeth clenched in fear. "Ten seconds!" West reported, voice even more panicked. Nereus shut her eyes tight and counted down to her death. Just as the nukes were about to hit, they disappeared from DRADIS. "Nukes destroyed!" Her second-in-command stated in pure disbelief.

A solemn cheer rang through the bridge. _"Unidentified ship! This is the police frigate Sword And Shield! We've got your back! Forming up on you!"_ The officer in charge of the frigate reported.

Nereus picked up the phone and responded. "I owe you one, _Sword And Shield_. We're making our way towards those colonial vessels while our FTL's spool! Suggest you do the same." The captain responded, simply giving advice.

_"Our FTL's are spun. Just give us the coordinates and the orders and we'll be ready to go."_ The captain of the police vessel responded.

"Copy that." She then flipped to an open channel. "To all colonial faster-than-light capable vessels, this is the Salvage Vessel Phoenix alongside the police frigate _Sword And Shield_. Respond on a closed channel to receive coordinates for jump." Nereus stated with a shaky confidence.

Her communications officer looked up from his station. "Ma'am, I've got a connection to a battlestar! The _Seikan."_ He reported to her, his hands gliding over his controls, attempting to coordinate an entire group of ships.

The captain nodded and flipped over to that channel. _"Seikan,_ this is the _Phoenix._ You've got two minutes to evacuate as many of your crew as you can and get them into my hangar." Nereus ordered simply.

_"Phoen-. I've got- weapons. Limi- cover. Launching all rapt-. Please help th-."_ The garbled transmission from the ship's commanding officer responded to her own transmission.

The battlestar, a heavily outdated and crippled Jupiter-class, was currently stuck in a permanent rotation, no propulsion systems left online from whatever happened to them. However, a few of her batteries were still operating, which was part of the reason the Cylons were currently annoying her and her escort ships. A stream of raptors and amazingly still operable vipers appeared on DRADIS as the exited the flight pods of the battlestar and headed towards the _Phoenix_ carrier.

"Our FTL's our spooled!" Someone reported.

Nereus didn't bother looking at the source of the voice. In all honesty, she didn't care who it was. "Alright, that's it. Transmit the coordinates for the jump and get ready to jump on my order." She stated as she watched the escape raptors and vipers slowly begin disappearing into Phoenix's hangar.

"Cylon raiders moving to intercept!" West shouted. "Thirty seconds until intercept!" He stated, bouncing from station to station.

_"This is the freighter Indulgence, jumping away to coords."_ The ship's captain reported before his ship jumped away.

"Raiders are firing missiles!" West reported.

Nereus listened as the handful of ships they had jumped away. _"This is the passenger liner Odyssey jumping."_ Another ship disappeared from DRADIS. _"Scorpion's Heir jumping."_ The third and final civilian ship disappeared off DRADIS just as the final raptor entered their hangar. Nereus released a breath of relief. She reached for the phone and patched through to the only ship remaining, Sword And Shield. "_Sword And Shield_, this is _Phoenix._ Jump on my mark in; three, two, one. Jump."

The _Phoenix_ and _Sword And Shield_ stayed in place for a second, two, and then disappeared in an impressive flash of light, sending them barreling through faster-than-light space. The Cylon missiles had barely missed their targets. Only by mere seconds did the _Phoenix_ and _Sword And Shield_ escape from the would-be fiery explosion that would have engulfed the two ships in flame.

The Second Cylon War had just begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rise Like A Phoenix From Ashes**

**Zero day plus one**

Nereus sighed as she struggled to keep her eyes open and staring up at DRADIS. For the last day-and-a-half, since the first waves of Cylons hit the colonies, the _Phoenix_ and the small ragtag bunch of ships flying around her and the police gun-frigate _Sword And Shield_ in a tight formation, seeking the protection of the only two decently armed ships in their group, floated aimlessly through the space surrounding the colonies. They were frak-all luck that they hadn't been found yet.

Saying that the civilian carrier and the police gun-frigate were armed wasn't saying much though. _Phoenix_ had her two torpedo launchers that held eight torpedoes each and a three point defense cannons scattered around her outer hull while_ Sword And Shield_ had a single antiship cannon and four point defense batteries. That being said, the other three civilian ships all had at least one point defense cannon. Wasn't exactly a force to be reckoned with but it was better than nothing. "Ma'am." The communications officer, Tucker Simms, remarked, seizing Nereus from her thoughts. "The captain of the _Indulgence_ is requesting permission to dock his ship in our hangar. Says he has a squadron's worth of inoperable vipers and a couple tons of scrap metal to offload. He thought that this carrier would be a better place for warplanes." He reported to her.

"Vipers? Why does a freighter have a squadron of vipers aboard?" The captain questioned, rubbing at the black bags currently sitting under her eyes.

Jeremiah West smirked. "Probably a group of salvagers like us that took them out of a scrapyard somewhere. Probably older models." But her second-in-command was only guessing.

Nereus nodded, content enough with that explanation for the time being. "So be it. Mister Simms, tell the _Indulgence_ to dock in our portside bay, alongside the passenger liner _Odyssey."_ She ordered. The _Odyssey_ was currently docked with the _Phoenix_ for repairs to her FTL systems. Until the passenger liner's drives were up and running, her and her crew would be residing on _Phoenix._ "Send that Major Lawrence guy to get those vipers. That hotshot Colonial leader. Tell him that I've got him a few more vipers to bolster our "impressive" numbers." Nereus held up air quotes when she said the word impressive.

There were currently only twelve operational vipers on board, all resistant to the Cylon virus due to lack of the installment of the Command Navigational Program. In reality, however, there were a whole twenty more vipers that were working. It was just that their CNP systems were still in the process of being removed, which meant that they would be down for at least two more days.

West sighed and ran a hand thoughtfully over his stubble. "So when do you think the Colonial Fleet refugees will start challenging your orders?" He questioned, bringing up the topic the captain had wanted to avoid for as long as possible.

"Soon. Not now, though. For now they'll accept. They won't enjoy it but they will accept. Otherwise I'll throw all who wish to leave into a raptor and send 'em out into the void." Nereus stated, hands grasped firmly behind her back.

West chuckled slightly. "How the hell we gonna do that, captain?" He questioned.

"I've got almost an entire platoon of marines on my side. Lieutenant Spiers, that officer we got off the station, have basically made it their duty to safeguard me and this ship. Every time I walk off the bridge to go to the head, one of them always follows and stands outside. I think they've got some misplaced loyalty." She explained to him.

West turned serious. "A platoon of marines with misplaced loyalty is not something to be handled delicately. You might want to talk to Spiers." The Colonial Fleet veteran responded.

Nereus sighed. "Jer, I've got Colonials breathing down my neck, panic-prone civilians about ready to trample me over and a ship that's about to start falling apart at the seams. Don't let her fool you, _Phoenix_ ain't exactly in the fighting shape we need her to be in right now. We took a helluva lot more damage than she's leading us to believe. I've got reports of buckling in frame eight, structural weaknesses showing up in the engine room and the hull is about to start caving in on its frakkin' self. Does it sound like I got the time to talk to a jarhead about his loyalty?" She questioned rhetorically, vileness seething in her voice.

West frowned before nodding. "Yeah, you're right. We need to fix some problems. Good thing the _Indulgence_ has a couple tons of scrap to bolster our own amount of scrap. It's a start. Not much considering how much needs to be done but we can work with that." Her second-in-command commented, as thoughtful as ever. Since the attack the day before, West had dug up his old captain rank insignias and had put them on the black box cap he was wearing. It helped him better get along with the Colonial refugees, meaning better relations overall.

"The first thing I need you to do is get a team to reinforce frame eight. If that frame buckles, the whole ship minus well be scuttled. That frame is right smack in the middle of the ship." Nereus explained with a short sigh of frustration. "After that's finished I'll-" DRADIS wailed as two new contacts jumped into their range.  
Aw, frak me!" She muttered, grabbing the phone off of its receiver on the center console. "Patch me into every ship!" She ordered to Simms who nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Unknown contacts on DRADIS. Spool up your drives and prepare to jump to next coordinates. Civilian ships move behind the _Phoenix_ and the _Sword And Shield_. Lawrence get your vipers in the air." Nereus ordered before setting the phone back down on its receiver. "Get ready to fire all torpedoes."

"Ma'am, wait a tick!" Simms shouted, pressing his headset closer to his ear.

Nereus furrowed her brows and picked the phone up again. "Hold guns." She ordered the _Sword And Shield_. The captain walked over to the communication station. "What is it?" She questioned suspiciously.

Simms shook his head. "Colonial transponders. Two of them." He reported.

The captain paused for a moment before frowning suspiciously. "Patch them through." Nereus ordered, marching back over to the phone. She pulled it from its receiver and brought it up to her ear. "Unknown colonial ship, this is the Salvage Vessel _Phoenix_. Please respond with recognition codes or we will blow you apart. Over." The captain waited before there was a short chuckle from the other side.

_"Like to see you try Phoenix. This is the patrol craft Buccaneer alongside the patrol craft Horizon. Eric Oxen speaking."_ The ship responded. Two military ships. Exactly what she needed right now. Someone to take the frakkin' military refugees off her hand.

Nereus smiled as a set of Colonial recognition codes streamed in from the two ships. "Codes match up. They're colonial alright." Simms stated with a confident nod.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you two. Somebody to take the frakkin' military refugees off my hands. No offense, I just want my ship to be mine." Nereus explained.

There was a pause. _"We're not a military ship."_ Oxen responded, taking Nereus by surprise.

But then she recognized the name. Her eyes went wide and she was half tempted to blast the ships to hell. "No. You're not. I know exactly who you are. Oxen's Buccaneers. You're pirates."


	3. Chapter 3

**Rise Like A Phoenix From Ashes**

**Zero day plus one**

Nereus covered the phone so Oxen couldn't hear her give this order to West. "Jer, get me lieutenant Spiers up here now." She ordered sternly before returning to her ever-so pleasant talk with the infamous Tauron born pirate. "Oxen, I'm coming over on a shuttle." The captain stated, ready to end their conversation at that. She didn't know what she was going to do but she did not intend to let Oxen command a ship, much less two, within the group of ships Nereus intended to protect.

_"Nu-uh. I'm not that stupid, captain Nereus. Yeah, I know who you are too. We can talk, I'm fine with that but I ain't gonna allow some bitch with Colonials aboard ship come on my ship."_ The pirate stated adamantly.

_"So be it."_ Nereus stated mentally to herself before placing the phone back down on its receiver.

As she did, the highest ranking marine officer, lieutenant Spiers, walked onto the bridge in a digital camo pattern battledress. "Ma'am." He greeted her with a simple nod before standing at ease in front of her. "What do you need me and my marines to do?" The lieutenant questioned, jumping straight to the point.

Nereus liked that. "Spiers, two pirate ships just jumped into range. Only it's not just any group of pirate scum. It's Oxen's Buccaneers." She reported with a short, frustrated sigh.

The corner of Spiers's mouth turned downwards into a frown. "I'll have a marine strike team ready within twenty minutes. You want us to go in loud or quiet?" The marine questioned, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Quiet preferably. And I'm coming with, if you'll allow it."

Spiers nodded again. "It'll be bloody, I can guarantee it. We'll take as many alive as possible and they'll be quite a few fist fights but there'll always be the idiots who go for a gun and try to take us." He explained to the captain of the vessel that had taken him in.

Nereus sighed. "I understand that. I'm also gonna get us some backup. I know you've only got about twenty three marines right now so I'm gonna call in a favor with the captain of the police frigate. See if we can't get a couple cops watching our back." She stated, attempting to bolster her forces as much as possible. Patrol craft were small but they could fit a hundred people at the least. More if they were thrifty with the amount of space they used.

"Sounds good. Meet up with me in hangar one when you're ready to leave. I'll have you a vest and a gun scrounged up by then." Spiers stated, offering her an informal salute.

She returned, playing along with his little game. "Get me major Lawrence and his vipers." Nereus ordered. Simms nodded and gave her the thumbs up indicating that she was on. The captain grabbed the phone. "Major, we have a situation. Can you and your flyboys disable the jump drives on those two new ships? Without harming the ships too badly?" Nereus questioned.

There was a moment of silence before the response came. _"They're simple patrol craft, captain. Vulture-Class PT Ship. A quick strafe on the right part and they'll be done for. It'll only be a temporary thing though. With some small damage like that a smart engineer can have the ship back to jump capabilities in twenty minutes."_ Lawrence explained to her.

"Alright. Do two quick flybys. I need to know about any weapons they're packing." Nereus ordered. It felt odd ordering around a member of the Colonial Fleet but it seemed routine for the major and his viper jockeys. Spiers and his marines too. And any other military refugees that had made it onto her ship one way or another.

_"Copy that Phoenix actual. Bull out." _The major apparently used his call sign when he was out flying._ "Alright, Jazz and No-fly form up on me. Two quick passes over those new ships. Everyone else, hold position with the rest of the fleet."_ Nereus overheard Lawrence issuing orders but didn't really care about them at the moment.

She tapped her foot nervously, alarms going off somewhere in the back of her head telling her this would end badly. The captain ignored them and went back to the task at hand. "Patch me through to the Sword And Shield." Nereus ordered Simms who nodded when he had her connected. "Sword And Shield this is captain Nereus. This is gonna be blunt, straightforward and any other similar adjective you can think of but I need officers. Preferably heavily armed but any with a kevlar vest will work." She stated.

_"Uhh... Nereus, this is lieutenant Frank Cutter. I don't quite know what you're talking about but if it has something to do with those two new ships I'd love to know about it."_

"It's Oxen's Buccaneers..." Nereus responded simply.

There was a pause. _"I'm sending over ten officers. They've got rifles and a helluva aim. Try to get them back to me in one piece, captain."_ Cutter responded without hesitation. Almost everybody had something against Oxen and his men. If you could call them men.

"Thanks Cutter. I owe you one. Phoenix out." She ordered Simms to cut the line.

Nereus was about to hang up when Lawrence came back to the line. _"Phoenix actual, this is Bull. The two ships are armed with minimum weaponry. Two dumb-fire torpedo launchers on both ships and a four point defense ships on each. I don't know how Oxen does the damage he does but it'll be easy as pie to disable that Godsdamn ship."_ The major reported.

"Get into position. Make it look like you're quarantining the ships. Unless Oxen starts spinning up his drives, wait until this ship's order. If he's stupid enough to try and jump before that you take that frakkin' drive out. And then take the weapons out too. Leave them defenseless so me and the marines can clean out the frakkin' cockroaches." Nereus muttered before slamming the phone down on the receiver. "Jer take over. The second you see the raptors leaving the hangar you give the order to the flyboys." She ordered. West nodded, frown never leaving his face. Looks like he had a reason to be mad at Oxen's Buccaneers too.

Nereus marched towards the elevator, called it and waited, all the while devising a plan. She didn't get very far into her planning. By the time she was in the lift and halfway to the hangar the best she had was 'Kill the frakker and be done with it.' That was plan A, B, C and D so far. Nothing creative, just walk onto his ship's bridge and shoot him in the head.

The lift doors slid open and Nereus stomped out, joining lieutenant Spiers, his marines and three pilots with ECOs gathered around three raptors. It looked like they had been waiting. She had to admit, Spiers worked fast. She marched around the group and joined Spiers's side. "Alright listen up!" Nereus spoke up so that everybody could hear them. "I've got ten more guys on their way over from the police frigate. Officers trained to deal with pirate and smuggler assholes. Before you start asking about fakkin' tactical shit I'm gonna tell you the simplicity of my plan. We waltz onto that ship, take as many prisoners, kill as many as we absolutely have to and I shoot Oxen right between his eyes." She stated just as the police raptor from the _Sword And Shield_ arrived.

The ship elevator, which ferried ships up onto the main landing strip, lowered onto the deck and, when it came to a stop, the door of the raptor opened and a stream of officers in full gear jogged off towards where Nereus and the marines were standing. They wore blue fatigues, black long-sleeve turtleneck like shirts and bulletproof vests over them. "Good." Nereus stated simply as the officers joined the marines. "We have two ships to deal with so we'll split into two groups. With the cops from the Sword bolstering our numbers that'll give us about thirty troops. Ten troops into each raptor. Spiers separate them into two strike teams. I'll take the first team and hit the _Buccaneer_ herself. You take the second and take the _Horizon._ I want MINIMAL death on this trip. Clear?" Nereus felt her plan had its flaws (no tactical structure at all, take prisoners and shoot who needs to be shot) but it was simple.

Something that would hopefully hold up when the bullets started flying. Nereus sat back, rocking back and forth on her heels, while Spiers split the strike force into two teams. Men and women alike shuffled over towards Nereus while Spiers continued to split them into the teams. All and all, when Spiers had finished dividing the marines and officers Nereus had thirteen marines and five officers which meant, including herself, her team consisted of nineteen armed men and women. Spiers had eighteen including himself but since Nereus would be storming into Oxen's flagship that probably meant it had more crew anyways.

"Alright!" The captain shouted, seizing the attention of both teams. "My team load into the police raptor and the one I am currently standing in front of! Second team load up into the other two. Let's get this show on the road!" Nereus ordered as an anonymous marine corporal handed her a bulletproof vest and a bullpup semi-automatic rifle. She took the vest first and put it on before taking the rifle. The captain chambered the first round. It had been awhile since she had handled anything larger than a small caliber handgun but the weight of the weapon felt good in her hands.

Once everyone was loaded into the military raptor her team was using, she walked in as the pilot was starting the ship. It was cramped with eight other people in the tiny shuttle but it was enough room to move around in. Once the pilot had done the pre-flight check, the ship lift began rising, bringing the group of raptors up to the landing strip where the raptors could take off and exit the ship. "We're good to go." The female pilot stated cheerfully. "Everyone hold on." She ordered as she accelerated out of the ship. The three other shuttles followed suit and formed up according to teams.

The two raptors that made up Spiers's team flew side by side and vice-versa with Nereus's team. _"This is Bull to strike force. Targets' FTL drives and weapons are down. You've got about a half hour depending on how competent of engineers they have. Don't screw up."_ Lawrence reported that his part of the mission was done.

"Tell him to stand by just in case." Nereus ordered the pilot who immediately relayed the message.

"ETA, two minutes." The ECO of the raptor reported.

Nereus began to tense up. She had never done something on this scale before. Sure, she'd been in one or two gunfights but nothing like this. In this, death would be unavoidable. Someone was going to die. Blood would be shed and she couldn't say she was looking forward to it. What she was looking forward to was the look on Oxen's face when she and the team she had under her command stormed onto the bridge.

The two raptors suddenly entered the _Buccaneer's_ hangar and proceeded to land on the deck. Suddenly a dark realization hit her. "Aw frak me. They're not just gonna let us into their hangar deck." Nereus stated, smacking herself on the forehead for not thinking of that.

"Hey, no problem skipper. This raptor one-two to all other raptors. Be advised, insertion via hull torching will be necessary." The pilot reported to the other ships before guiding the raptor out of the hangar and finding a spot in the hull. "According to the schematics of this class if we torch it here you guys should have a nice little crossroad that leads to all the important areas. CIC, hangar, engines and crew quarters." The pilot stated while setting the raptor down on the hull. "The other half of your team will probably be down about twenty to thirty meters." The raptor flier stated with a shaky confidence.

Nereus nodded. "Alright. Let's torch this thing."

**Buccaneer CIC**

"Oxen! Some 'a the crew is reportin' sounds o' someone cuttin' through the hull." A pirate by the name of Gunther reported.

Oxen was tall, he lived up to the last name. He had high-and-tight jet black hair. The pirate sported an assortment of scars on his face, anything from a minor nick to a scar that lasted for inches along his skin. He had an unkempt 5 o'clock shadow and cannons for arms. No matter how strong he was, however, the pirate captain knew that he couldn't take on a group of marines by himself. That's why he had lackeys. "So be it, Mister Eriksen. Sound the alarm." Oxen ordered, picking up the phone that was connected to the PA system. "Prepare to repel boarders." He ordered sternly. Several of his crew looked nervous but nevertheless they went to work.

This was going to be fun to watch how it all turned out. At least that's what Oxen thought.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hey guys! I hear some of you are enjoying the story so far so that's great to hear. Now! I've gotta little bit of a request to **__**any of you**__** who really enjoy the story. I need a good image to use as the cover for the story. Now this is just a request, no obligation about this but it would be amazing to get a little bit of fan-art that shows your rendition of the Phoenix and her ragtag band of ships! Or anything you'd want it to be a rendition of. Now this is just a request. If no one wants to do it I'll just keep the one I'm using now. But again, it'd be really awesome, you'd get all the credit and I'd love you forever. If you're interested, by all means send me a message and we can talk about it. Or just do whatever you feel like doing! Either way. :) Without further ado! The next chapter.**_

* * *

**Rise Like A Phoenix From Ashes**

Nereus raised her rifle up as her team stormed into the _Buccaneer_ through the hole in the hull . ?docid=30646917 had torched. They made a quick sweep of the area. Down the ways to her left sat the intersection that the pilot had told her about. Further down that, she expected, was the other half of her team. She turned to one of the marines with her. "Who's the highest ranking over there?" The captain questioned.

"Gunny is, sir." The six foot plus tall marine reported to her, handing over his radio. "You can talk to her through the frequency it's already set on, ma'am." He explained.

She took it and the marine went back to aiming his rifle at the corridor, expecting someone to jump out. "Gunny, this is Nereus." Nereus stated through the small handheld radio.

_"Gunny here. Where are you, ma'am?"_ The female gunnery sergeant questioned.

"A quick jog from the intersection. You?"

There was a pause. "We can see the intersection now, sir. We'll meet you there." The marine stated before the radio in Nereus's hands went silent.

Nereus lowered her rifle and motioned silently for her team to follow her. She jogged the short twenty meters and looked to her left and right. She could see the gunny and the other marines coming from her right. A bullet hit near where Nereus had stuck her head out and she immediately pulled back. "Frak! Get down!" She shouted as a barrage of bullets hit the ground near the other half of her team. They stuck in the open. Nereus leaned out and took two shots at the source of the fire. Two pirates with light machine guns set up down the corridor a ways.

Gunny and her marines scrambled towards the intersection, trying to get to cover. Not all of them made it though. Two marines fell on the way to the intersection. Nereus could still see one of them moving. The other half of the strike team took cover on the other side of the intersection. Nereus turned to her marines. "Anybody got an idea?" She questioned over the constant gunfire that only stopped for them to reload.

The marine that had given her his radio offered her what looked like a grenade. "Flash 'em, sir." He stated.

A flash-bang. Nereus smiled and took the grenade from the marine. She pulled the pin and tossed it down the hall, throwing it towards the attackers. She heard a short shout before the grenade detonated. Nereus quickly turned the corned, exposing herself in the process, and fired a quick burst down the corridor, taking out both of the pirate aggressors. Their bodies slumped to the ground, landing on top of each other in a bleeding pile. "Get a medic to the hurt!" Nereus ordered. She then pulled a group of three random marines aside. "Stay with the medic. Cover our asses. If that bastard Oxen is able to push us back, we need a place we can hold at." The captain explained before about facing and gathering the rest of her marines. "Gunny, where's the bridge?" She questioned.

The gunny paused before responding. "Two frames up." She reported before the marine chambered a fresh round into her standard issue burst fire assault rifle.

Nereus nodded. "On me." She ordered to her troops, a mixture of marines and a handful of police officers, before breaking into a half sprint. _I want this bastard dead._ The captain added mentally.

**Buccaneer CIC**

"Cap'n! Colonials!" A pirate shouted, shooting up from his station and pointing at the marines and officers who were currently charging through the bulkhead of the CIC. He tried to pull a gun but a marine saw the pirate go for it, broke into a sprint and dived overtop of the man's station, putting him down to the ground.

The colonials were about to pull their weapons up at the surrounding crewmen but a scrap fight broke out before that could happen. Pirates, marines, officers and even Nereus herself all began beating each other in a larg, fight that looked surprisingly similar to the barfights Nereus used to participate in. The marines had the upper hand, more or less, but the pirates weren't backing down. Nereus stood up from the pirate she was beating and gave him a swift kick to the stomach, sending him down for good. She scanned the room quickly for her target and found him. Oxen was attempting to sneak out of the CIC through a bulkhead. He went through the door and turned left.

Nereus charged after him, annoying both pirates and her troops. She threw the bulkhead door open, stomped through and looked to her left. Oxen was too cocky. He was walking, walking for the Gods' sake. The pirate captain didn't think anybody would notice him leave, much less come after him. He was wrong. Nereus broke out into a full sprint and, just as Oxen started to turn around to face the sound of her boots hitting the metal floor, she tackled him like an all-pro Pyramid player would have.

She brought him to the ground and pinned him to the ground with her knee. Nereus raised her fists and delivered a swift left hook. Oxen felt a tooth go loose. She punched him straight in his nose, both breaking it and drawing blood from it. She raised her balled up fist again and was about to deliver another hard punch when all of a sudden a single klaxon began sounding off through the ship. This gained Nereus's attention. "What is that?" She questioned Oxen threateningly.

Oxen raised one of his hands to his bleeding nose. Well, there wasn't much on his face that wasn't bleeding. Nereus packed a punch. "Something on DRADIS." He reported.

Nereus pushed herself up off of him and was about to run back to the CIC before she stopped and turned around. She delivered a quick kick to the pirate's head. Oxen went limp, unconscious or dead. Nereus didn't much care which it was. She turned around again and sprinted the short distance from where the pirate captain lay to the CIC. She entered through the bulkhead and looked around.

The pirates and her men had ceased fighting when DRADIS picked up a new contact. Nereus pushed her way through the crowd of pirates, marines and officers to where she could easily see the DRADIS monitor. One unknown moving right for them. "Somebody get me _Phoenix!_ Spool up the jump drive! If this things got any weapons, now would be the time to use them." She ordered as new blips on DRADIS appeared, coming from the larger blip. Raiders launching from a baseship. The group sat, frozen in place. "Move!" She shouted at them, kicking them into action.

Bloodied pirates manned their station and marines took the stations that others were too. A voice came over the CIC. _"Captain, this is Lieutenant Spiers. We've got multiple contacts coming in!"_ The marine officer said.

Nereus grabbed a phone."I know, Spiers! _Phoenix_ should be sending the coordinates for the next jump." She stated.

There was a long pause. _"We're not going, ma'am. Our... our drives are down."_ Spiers stated, attempting to conceal his emotion. His voice betrayed him but that was the least of Nereus's worries. She heard him shouting at his men. _"Get to the raptors! GO!"_ Spiers shouted. He came back to her. _"I'll buy you the time you need to get your drives spun up, ma'am. Get my men out of here..."_ Another pause. _"Good luck out there, captain. Spiers out."_

**Lieutenant Spiers**  
**Horizon CIC**

Spiers threw the phone aside and ran over to the helm station of the small patrol craft. He guided the small, four hundred meter long, two hundred wide ship on a course heading straight for the Cylon baseship. The marine knew that the craft would only take a handful of hits before it was finally fatal and finished off the small, barely armed ship. He verified the course and ran over to the weapon control console. The craft had three torpedo launchers and ten point defense cannons. Better than nothing. He set the point defense weapons on auto fire, and fired them randomly in different vectors that the Cylons were coming from. The lieutenant launched every torpedo the ship had at the basestar and then ran back to the helm.

He had the craft begin rotating on its axis to keep the hull integrity up, to a degree. Spiers set in for full speed ahead.

_"Spiers! Spiers! Don't you dare! Spiers come in! Spiers?"_ Nereus's voice was still audible over the CIC's speakers but Spiers ignored it best he could. She'd jump away with his men and everyone else. He knew she would.

Spiers braced himself against the helm console as several missiles struck the outer hull. Klaxons wailed and the damage control panel was flashing red, indicating multiple decompressions in the hull. The marine attempted to balance himself when another missile hit, knocking him to the ground. He felt his head hit the deck and saw a bright flash of white before his vision restored. Spiers felt the back of his head and felt a sticky substance, presumably his blood, oozing from a gash. Didn't matter.

He picked himself up off the ground and stumbled over to the weapon console. Spiers reloaded the torpedoes and fired all three launchers. Each launcher held eight torpedoes, meaning he fired twenty four in each barrage. Cylon raiders were swarming the patrol craft. DRADIS was practically covered in red contacts, all of them being labeled as unidentified. He knew they were Cylons.

The baseship was coming up fast and Spiers knew he didn't have much time. Another missile hit and knocked him to the ground again. He felt something snap in his leg and he had to clench his teeth together to keep himself from yelling in pain. Spiers crawled towards the helm station, his bad leg dragging limply behind him. He reached up and pulled himself up so he could see the controls. He grimaced, placing as much weight as he could on his good leg.

Spiers stared up at DRADIS. The baseship was mere seconds from impact and was now attempting to veer to the left out of the way of the patrol ship. He wasn't going to let that happen. The marine tracked the Cylon basestar and settled on a course that the baseship would be unable to avoid. Spiers's grimace left his face and a slight smile came to replace it. He had bought enough time for his men to get safely to Nereus's ship and for the _Buccaneer_ to spin up her jump drives. He had done it.

The marine let himself slump to the ground and shut his eyes as missile after missile hit the hull of the ship. It didn't matter. It wasn't going to stop. "Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer. Take those lost today upon you with n-" Spiers was cutoff by the impact of the patrol ship against the Cylon baseship. It was over.

**Buccaneer CIC**

Nereus stood, wide-eyed. She could hardly believe what she had just seen. The Horizon disappeared from DRADIS, as did the baseship. All that remained were chunks of debris. Spiers's kamikaze attack had resulted in the baseship being torn into two pieces, divided at its center axis. Then they were claimed by secondary explosions, probably from the spare missiles.

"Ma'am, raiders heading right towards us." Gunny reported, standing at her side.

"That's it.. Nothing we can do here. The Phoenix and the others have already jumped. Let's follow suit. Jump away." Nereus ordered, hands grasped behind her back. She wasn't about to let her emotions show, not in front of all these people. But Gods did it sting.


End file.
